


solace

by satyrgod



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, trust me when i say this is purely sweet romance. no nasty to be found
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-31
Updated: 2018-05-31
Packaged: 2019-05-16 07:54:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,276
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14807328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/satyrgod/pseuds/satyrgod
Summary: The Phantom Thieves have always served as a home to Akira, so it only makes sense he should feel safest around their members. Searching for ways to alleviate how troubled he is by the interrogation, he tells Yusuke to put him in handcuffs, searching for more positive associations.





	solace

**Author's Note:**

> i love... romance and wanted to write a piece about the love and trust shukita have in their relationship so join hands with me as i serve to give you several cavities with this story.  
> this is post-canon (obviously, i guess) around about a year or so.

“…There was something I wanted to try, Yusuke.” Akira had said, hands behind his back.

Yusuke tries to peer around him, but Akira twists his body around, so that he still can't see anything.

“You're determined to keep this a surprise, I see.” Normally, Yusuke would agree to mostly anything Akira wanted to try with him. At least once. But Akira’s body language is troubling, to say the least. He looks like a rubber band ready to snap.

“Well it… requires some explanation, I guess.” He exhales a shaky sigh, and looks up at Yusuke through his bangs. “Don't say anything until I'm done, ok?”

Yusuke nods, and after another moment of hesitation, Akira brings his hands out in front of him, holding a pair of handcuffs.

Yusuke immediately comes to the assumption they'll be being used on him. The idea of doing anything like that to Akira makes his blood run cold, all things considered.

“I want you to use them on me.” Akira said, voice small.

_...What?_

True to his word, Yusuke remains silent, waiting for Akira to continue. The trepidation is certainly still visible on his face, so Akira continues, words coming out faster than he can think.

“Well... I wanna get over this somehow, if that's even possible. I at least wanna stop feeling so…” There’s a frustrated pause, here, as he realizes he can't really think of a word other than 'traumatized.’ “... You know. So I was thinking, maybe, if I do something like this with someone I trust, it might freak me out less?”

Yusuke listens to it all, remaining silent, and Akira goes over to sit on the bed.

“... That's it. I just…” He looks down, staring at the handcuffs in his hands. “I thought maybe some positive associations might help me.”

Yusuke remained motionless for a second, before crossing the room, sitting next to Akira.

“Are you certain? I don't…” He’s not sure if he even _likes_ this. Akira’s visibly distressed already, from the idea, and he expects him to _cuff_ him?

“You worry about me too much, Yusuke.” Akira says, leaning in to kiss his cheek. “I can handle this much, I promise.”

Yusuke still looks visibly hesitant, so Akira takes his hand, placing the cuffs in his open palm, and closing his hand around it.

“I trust you.” Akira repeats, and Yusuke finally yields, pulling him in for a kiss before moving behind him on the bed.

“Do we need a safe word?” Yusuke asks, gingerly pulling Akira’s hands behind his back.

“I don't think so.” Akira says, body tensing. “If I tell you to stop, you'll know I mean it.”

With that, his hands are bound behind him. Flexing his wrists, he finds they're too loose, and he knows he could get himself out of them with just a little bit of effort.

Yusuke really is too soft on him… He can't say he minds, though.

“The key is on the nightstand.” Akira says, belatedly, and Yusuke hums in acknowledgement, moving over so that he can find it for later.

“And now?” Yusuke asks, after locating the key.

Akira stops to think, as he honestly didn't really plan this far ahead. “I guess…” he says, though his head feels full of cotton, suddenly. “I'm at your mercy.” Actually, it feels like his mouth is too. When did it get so dry? “You can do anything you want.”

There's a pause as Yusuke mulls that over. “So you mean… anything at all.”

An unreadable response as usual, it's always difficult to tell what direction Yusuke’s mind is going. This makes Akira more nervous than usual, but he remembers what this is for, what it means, and does his best to swallow it, fidgeting in place.

“...Yeah. Anything.”

Yusuke hops up from the bed, and Akira stares after him, head tilted. He starts rummaging through his bag, and grabs some kind of book.

_Is it a sketchbook?_ Akira thinks, as Yusuke walks back towards him. _He really wants to draw me like this?_

Rather than that, Yusuke settles in behind him, arms reaching around him, and sets a book in his lap. The cover is so worn from being carried around it's completely unrecognizable.  
“This,” Yusuke begins, voice low in Akira’s ear, “is an artbook I’ve had for a very long time. Madarame gave it to me when I was young.” He opened the book, to a seemingly random page, and on it is the Sayuri. “Looking at this book has served to soothe me for as long as I can remember.” Despite the age, the pages of it still look somewhat new. Akira had expected there to be paint stains on it, but as Yusuke flips through, there’s nothing of the sort. It’s immaculate.

He tries focusing on Yusuke’s words, to his credit. But it’s a lot harder than usual, because he can’t shake the memories wearing these cuffs bring out of him. He _knew_ this wouldn’t fix anything, not immediately, of course, but he’s _safe_. He’s in Leblanc. He’s with Yusuke.

Why is he still shaking? Why is he still so _afraid_?

Leaning his head back against Yusuke’s chest, he shuts his eyes, and tries to focus on the _sound_ of him, at least, if he can’t focus on the actual words.

The slow and gentle tone to Yusuke’s voice does bring him comfort. It’s nice. Familiar. At the end of it all, he can always count on Yusuke to be here, to bring him his paintings, to ask him to go stargazing, to go out on dates with him, and lament the fact he himself never has the funds to contribute.

It’s all so _warm_ , _comforting_ , that Akira finally does find himself doing what he wanted in the first place, finally forgetting the situation and reminding himself that he is safe, he has so many people who care for him, who wouldn’t let anything like that happen to him again.

Maybe he forgets himself a little too much, because as the time ticks by, Yusuke looks down and realizes, at some point or the other, Akira had fallen asleep while he’d been talking.

He chuckles, softly, stretching out a hand to where he knows the keys to the handcuffs are, taking them off of Akira and placing them on the floor next to the bed. During all of the motion, Akira started to stir, and Yusuke laid him down on the bed, pulling him into an embrace.

“You took them off.” Akira said, voice still affected by sleep. It was evident he was really only half conscious, so Yusuke carded a hand through his hair, softly petting him.

“Would you rather I keep them on while you slept? It seems uncomfortable…” He pauses, to kiss Akira on the forehead. “Besides, you said I could do what I wanted. I wanted to take them off.”

“You’re such a cheater.” Akira said, smiling up at Yusuke, before putting his own arms around him and snuggling into his chest. Yusuke didn’t bother to reply, since he rightfully assumed Akira would return to sleep within a few minutes.

It’s sweet, Yusuke thinks, that Akira would allow himself to be so vulnerable with him. It fills him with a feeling he can’t quite place. Pride? Happiness? Love, most likely. What he can tell is that his heart is full and warm, and looking at Akira sleeping alongside him so peacefully only doubles the effects.

Pressing a final kiss to Akira’s head, Yusuke figures he may as well get some sleep himself. With how relaxed he is around Akira, he too, is out like a light within a few minutes.

**Author's Note:**

>  _you wrote unironic shukita comfort bdsm and it slaps_ \- cony
> 
> anyway thank you for seeing this through ♡


End file.
